Create and Configure Kafka Connectors
Create a connector from a plugin installed on your Connect cluster, or open an existing connector to edit its configuration. Kafma sends configuration validation requests to Kafka Connect and shows the results beside the fields.
Create a connector
- Open Kafka Connect and select Create Connector.
- Choose the Connect cluster where it should run.
- Select an installed source or sink plugin and enter a connector name.
- Complete its configuration in Form or JSON mode.
- Resolve any validation errors, then select Create.
Plugin availability depends on the selected Connect cluster. Install a missing plugin on its workers before creating the connector; selecting it in Kafma does not install it.
Kafka Connect validates the configuration before creating the connector. A successful creation means that the configuration was accepted; check the Tasks tab to confirm that its tasks started successfully.
Edit configuration
Open the connector's Configuration tab and select Edit, or choose Edit Configuration from its row menu in the connector list. Use Form for individual settings or JSON for the full configuration. The form displays field documentation where the plugin provides it, plus validation errors returned by Kafka Connect.
Select Review to validate the draft and compare it with the current configuration. Check the added, removed, and changed settings, then select Apply Changes, or Apply to Production for a Production cluster.
Applying configuration changes restarts the connector and its tasks. If the validation request could not complete, the review shows a warning; Kafka Connect still checks the configuration when it is applied.
Pause, resume, and stop
Open the connector's action menu to control its lifecycle:
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Pause | Tasks stop processing but stay on their workers, keeping resources such as database connections |
| Resume | Resumes a paused connector or starts a stopped connector |
| Stop | Shuts down the connector and its tasks, freeing their resources; configuration and offsets are kept |
Stop requires Kafka Connect 3.5 or later. The status can take a moment to reflect a lifecycle change while tasks transition.
For Restart, failed-task recovery, and individual task restarts, see Troubleshoot tasks and inspect offsets.
Delete a connector
In the connector list, open the connector's row menu and select Delete Connector, then review the confirmation. Deletion isn't available from the connector's details. Deletion stops its tasks and removes its configuration.
Deleting a connector does not clear its stored offsets. Source offsets remain in Connect's offset storage; a sink's committed offsets remain in its consumer group. A new connector with the same name may resume from the stored offsets instead of starting over. Sink offsets can expire, and a different configuration can use different offsets, so resuming is not guaranteed.
Deletion does not delete the Kafka topics or their messages. Recreating a connector is not an offset reset.
Read-Only and Activity Logs
Connector creation, configuration changes, lifecycle actions, task restarts, and deletion respect the Kafka cluster's Read-Only setting. Existing connectors continue processing when you enable Read-Only; it blocks changes made through Kafma.
Changes appear in Activity Logs. Sensitive configuration values are redacted in the logs.